THERE were plenty of tears of joy for students collecting their GCSE results at Park Academy in Uxbridge this morning (25). 

This year’s Year 11 cohort were the first to sit GCSEs following the pandemic which caused two years of disturbance to their learning. 

Some 15% of students were graded 9-7, 53% of entries graded 9-5 and 68% of entries were graded 9-4. Almost 50% of students achieved at least a grade 8 or equivalent.

Suvi Mohey, principal at the Park View Road school said: “They’ve worked extremely hard and shown resilience during a difficult time.”

A week ago, Arti Dalal was celebrating her sister Tulsi’s A-level results. This time it was her turn. The 16-year-old secured Grade 8s, 7s, 6s and one 5.

She said: “It was helpful to have my sister when I was learning at home as I found her support invaluable. She could understand what I was going through. 

“All the disruption caused by COVID has made things difficult, but the school was very supportive and helped us to keep going.”

Kate Geron, 16, was one of the top-performing GCSE students at Park Academy. She achieved three Grade 9s, three Grade 8s and two Grade 7s, alongside a star grade for Music. 

She said: “The school helped us to catch up on anything we may have missed by not being in a classroom. I would like to go on to be a doctor and a surgeon.”